A dead ‘doctor’, cancer and ‘woo woo’: Inside Australia’s ozone therapy industry

Cara does not consider herself to be “woo woo” but when she started experiencing unexplained health symptoms, she became curious about alternative medicine. 

She booked in at The Ozone Clinic in Sydney’s Castle Hill after seeing positive reviews online, hoping it would cure her brain fog and body aches.

Stepping inside, Cara, who does not wish to use her last name, remembers thinking something was amiss.

“They put me on a bed and spun me upside down and were tapping random parts of my body,” she recalled.

The practitioner presented her with a booklet with red markings — red indicating her level of supposed disease was high.

“Then they said we’ve got a solution for you. It happens to be ozone therapy for $1,500 a pop,'” she said.

Ozone therapy is an alternative therapy that involves administering ozone gas into a patient’s body either intravenously, through inhalation, or via the rectum and vagina.

It is considered to be an experimental and sometimes risky therapy and is not approved for medical use by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia.

A ‘doctor’ and a Blue Wiggle walk into a room

The clinic Cara attended was run by Ukrainian-born Edward Dulitsky, who marketed himself as a holistic doctor despite not being registered as a doctor in Australia.

An online profile lists him as a “neurologist” and “health consultant” with a PhD in science and ozone therapy from Russia.

His website, which has been deleted, states he treated thousands of patients with ozone therapy for a variety of conditions, including chronic fatigue, Lyme-like disease and cancer rehabilitation.

Cara remembers getting a “dodgy vibe” from Mr Dulitsky.

Mr Dulitsky died in suspicious circumstances in a hotel room in Russia in 2023 while on a business trip. His wife believes he may have been murdered.

Following Mr Dulitsky’s death, his wife resumed operations of the business before it was shut down.

In August 2024, a year after his death, the Sydney clinic was raided by officers from the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC), who found a range of drugs imported from Russia bound in gaffer tape that looked like they had been strapped to an item — or person — and smuggled into the country.

The clinic was slapped with an interim prohibition order and banned from delivering ozone therapy for medical purposes while the commission investigated a complaint from a patient.

Mr Dulitsky’s wife, who did not want to be named, said she believed the patient’s complaint was bogus, though the HCCC said substantial evidence was gathered during their investigation.

The clinic attracted patients from far and wide, including Blue Wiggle Anthony Field, who was pictured receiving ozone therapy in a now deleted Facebook post from July 2021.

“Anthony Field, the Blue Wiggle, has brought his friend to The Ozone Clinic for alternative cancer support treatment — the same place Anthony himself has been successfully treated for his own Lyme-like illness,” the post said.

His friend pictured in the photo was military veteran Brendan Nikolajew, who died after battling cancer in 2021.

The ABC is not suggesting Mr Nikolajew received ozone therapy or that it contributed or led to his death.

Cara also remembers seeing Mr Field in the waiting room while waiting for her session with Mr Dulitsky.

In a statement, a Wiggles spokesperson said Mr Field sought help from the clinic in 2021 after a period of serious and ongoing health challenges.

“Like many people facing complex health issues, he explored a range of options in good faith,” the spokesperson said.

“Anthony is not a medical professional and has always relied on the guidance of qualified and registered practitioners.

“He would never knowingly be involved in, or support, unregulated medical practices.”

What is ozone therapy?

Ozone gas is generated using a machine that applies electricity to convert regular oxygen (O₂) into ozone (O₃).

At Mr Dulitsky’s clinic, the form of ozone therapy used reportedly involves drawing a small amount of the patient’s blood, mixing it with ozone, and then reinfusing it into the body — a process known as autohemotherapy.

There is limited peer-reviewed evidence or clinical trial data supporting the effectiveness of ozone therapy in treating chronic health conditions.

The therapy also carries potential risks, including serious or even fatal side effects.

Between 1975 and 1983, six people in Germany died after developing gas embolisms following improper intravenous administration of ozone gas.

Other reported complications include septic shock and respiratory issues linked to ozone inhalation.

Medicine sitting next to mayonnaise

The Castle Hill clinic is one of two facilities providing ozone therapy in Sydney to be shut down by the NSW HCCC following patient complaints.

The Ozone Healing Clinic in Penrith Westfield Shopping Centre was issued with a prohibition order in April after a patient contracted sepsis.

Linh Tuan Phan, a non-registered practitioner who worked at the Penrith clinic, was also accused of maintaining poor hygiene levels and obtaining an illegal prescription for a blood thinner to use on patients.

Efforts to contact Mr Phan were unsuccessful.

HCCC Commissioner John Tansey said poor hygiene was a common sight for officers investigating clinics.

“In some of the facilities they were keeping equipment and drugs in the same fridge in the staff kitchen as people were keeping their lunch,” Mr Tansey said.

There is no firm data for how many Australians use ozone therapy as it is not recognised by the complementary medicine peak body.

But online, hundreds of patients have reported turning to buying ozone machines from overseas, and oxygen gas bottles from Bunnings to perform the treatment on themselves at home.

“That’s absolutely scary to be honest,” Mr Tansey said.

The HCCC believes the number of complaints is under-reported.

“We also have evidence that some practitioners will actively discourage people to not complain. They might offer to refund the money,” Mr Tansey said.

Rise of medical distrust

Cara was eventually diagnosed with a histamine intolerance but spent years thinking she had Lyme disease, which is not recognised as a locally acquired disease in Australia.

She believes ozone clinics are preying on vulnerable people who feel forgotten by the medical system.

“I was very unwell and went through all the traditional avenues of GPs and specialists, they couldn’t find any answers,” she said.

Louise Stone, an associate professor at the University of Adelaide, who investigates medically unexplained illnesses, said Cara’s situation was common among patients who could not be diagnosed.

“It’s like a cold case mystery in that medicine has edges and our tests will only go so far,” Dr Stone said.

“To be left without a name for your illness is to be left without a story.

“I’ve seen so many patients who have spent so much money on a treatment that has promised the world, and is actually not evidence-based at all.”